Joachim: Violin Concertos

"Joachim integrated the violin�s first entry into the opening tutti, after which initial statement the orchestra continues on its own. The solo part offered its youthful composer a great number of opportunities for virtuoso display�In its harmonic and melodic style, so heavily tinged with nostalgia�

�in the Hungarian style� has been described as the most difficult of concerted works for the violin�it requires strength and stamina as well as sustained brilliance, demanding a very occasional sacrifice of tonal beauty to achieve the requisite tonal strength. Strongly recommended to all kinds of listeners." --Fanfare, May 2010

A colleague of Mendelssohn, the Schumanns and Brahms, the virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim was himself a composer of note. His exuberant single-movement Opus 3 Violin Concerto from around 1851 was dedicated to Liszt, from whom he subsequently distanced himself. It is a tour de force by a highly gifted twenty year old. The Opus 11 Violin Concerto followed six years later, its Classical three movements frequently coloured by Hungarian inflections, most strikingly in the �gypsy finale� which calls for astonishing technical control, immense stamina and fiery abandon from the soloist. Suyoen Kim is the Winner of the 2006 Hannover International Violin Competition.